On September 8th I asked my readers to host picnics and to send me the results. The following is one of 27 amazing submissions, the best of which will win an entire cow, courtesy of US Wellness. Vote for your favorite on October 8.

What a day! The day began in classic primal style – with an obstacle to overcome. We had originally planned on going to the local park to grill our large amount of meat and enjoy the other primal dishes. Unfortunately all the grills at the park were already occupied, so we ended up hauling all of our “goods” back to Sarah’s house to use her fire. While real primal humans would have been confused by the use of these strange metal objects that helped us eat our food at Sarah’s house, it was an unexpected treat for us to be able to sit at a table and eat our food with utensils, when we had originally planned to not use any at the park (except for grilling implements – safety first!).

The food was amazing – we had several pounds of steak, sausages, tri tip, and ribs. This would have been enough but we were lucky enough to have some other primal dishes. The winner was the sausage scramble, with the close runner-up being the squid salad. Though, all the dishes were amazing and prepared with fresh and local ingredients. We also had fresh watermelon and raw cashews to snack on, both of which were purchased at Pedrick’s, which is a local fresh produce emporium, located on the north side of the highway in a small hut. If you’re an aficionado of minimally processed local food, this place is must-see!

After our meal, we proceeded back to the park on foot to play Ultimate Frisbee. After a grueling 5 on 5 match, we decided to recreate a sort of hunter-hunted scenario using Frisbees (notice photos, mostly barefoot!). One lucky person volunteered to stand at the opposite end of the field and the rest of us stood at the other end with Frisbees, the object being to throw the Frisbee as close to the person at the other end as possible. The idea was to re-create the accuracy with which an early human might have had to throw a spear or an arrow in order to injure his prey. It was pretty hilarious/silly. Obviously a Frisbee is not a dangerous object, and the person at the other end of the field wound up running frantically around by themselves trying to catch all the suspended Frisbees. We were all happy and exhausted after this little stunt, and the rest of the afternoon consisted of several other smaller activities – we had tree climbing, partner yoga, and fulfilling social interaction (see pictures!). It was a beautiful afternoon and it was really nice to bond with several of the other athletes that train at our CrossFit gym here in Davis. Additionally, we were all reminded of how lucky we are to live in Davis – the abundance of outdoor space, good weather, local produce, meat, wine, fruits, etc. We will most likely be organizing events like this on a regular basis. Thank you for stoking the fire!

The Feast

Sausage Scramble

Squid Salad

Eggplant Salad

Copious amounts of beef and sausage for the grill

Watermelon

Raw cashews

Recipe: Sausage Scramble

Brown 1 lb sausage – cooked on low heat to preserves as much grease as possible

Once brown remove from pan leaving drippings

1 small onion fried in the remaining grease until translucent

Pinch kosher salt

2 tsp red pepper flake

18 eggs scrambled with 4 oz whole milk

Pinch kosher salt

Several grinds black pepper

1 TBsp basil

2 avocados cubed with kosher salt and black peppers

Keep moving around pan until hard scrambled

Recipe: Eggplant Salad

6 Japanese eggplant

2 large bell peppers (green or red or both)

1 yellow onion

Coconut oil

1 handful of fresh basil leaves

1/4 c lemon juice

Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Cut eggplants in half length-wise, lay skin side down on paper towels. Sprinkle salt on the inside flesh of the eggplant and let the flesh sweat for a few minutes. Wipe off sweat and repeat 2-3 times. This process releases lectins and allows the eggplant to cook faster. After wiping off all of the sweat and salt off of the eggplant, lay skin side up on baking sheet. Bake eggplant at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 min. Let cool and chop into bite-sized pieces. Sauté onion and bell peppers in coconut oil and let cool. Add all ingredients to large bowl and toss. Serve warm or cold.

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Imagine you’re George Clooney. Take a moment to admire your grooming and wit. Okay, now imagine someone walks up to you and asks, “What’s your name?” You say, “I’m George Clooney.” Or maybe you say, “I’m the Clooninator!” You don’t say “I’m George of George Clooney Sells Movies Blog” and you certainly don’t say, “I’m Clooney Weight Loss Plan”. So while spam is technically meat, it ain’t anywhere near Primal. Please nickname yourself something your friends would call you.

mmm squid salad, i havent had squid in forever. looks like a good time!

Davis is a nice area – close to kayaking and outdoor activities, farming, plus some city life. Plus they have such an amazing veterinary school. Given the many uses we have for animals, it’s incredibly important that we care for them well.

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